GREEN BAY, Wisconsin — Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutconst has until 3 p.m. Tuesday to pick out his 53-man roster. Calling it the last 53 would be inaccurate. It would also be inaccurate to call it the original 53. In Gutekunst’s eyes, this is a fluid 69-man roster.
“Between 53 and 69 and what the 48 wears on game day, I think you have to look at it differently,” Gutekunst said recently. “And, obviously, the 48 players walking around the pitch every Sunday, that’s the most important thing. But, as you know, it’s been a long season, injury-riddled, and struggling to cope. This year, there are 16 players in the training class, they have the ability to play three times and are much more flexible than in the past.”
There are some moving parts. First, on the offensive line, will left tackle David Bakhtiari and right tackle Elgerton Jenkins be cleared in Week 1? If one or both are out, who will start on the offensive line? The exempt line is the elephant in the room.
“What I’m trying to say is that in this league, whether you’re a starter or not, you can’t breathe out. Otherwise, you’re not going to be at your best,” coach Matt LaFleur said Saturday. “So, I think our mentality is always, we’re trying to find the best 11 players. And I think you can argue more in some positions than others and still have work to do. Plus, you always Not sure who gets it from another team. I know our people are going to work very, very hard. If they see an opportunity to upgrade our roster, I think they’ll jump ship.”
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With that as context, here are our final 53-man roster predictions.
Quarterback (2)
running back (2)
Receiver(7)
tight head (4)
Offensive Line (9)
Line of Defense (6)
Outside Linebacker (6)
Inside Linebacker (4)
cornerback (6)
Safe(4)
Special team (3)
